How to Avoid the Biggest Mistakes to Protect Your Intellectual Property Rights

A lot of enterprises makes certain mistakes with regard to their intellectual property during the due diligence process. These mistakes can have long-term effects on the value of the company, yet a little thought can easily avoid them. Here are the some most common intellectual property rights mistakes– here we discuss how and why these mistakes should be avoided.

Making Patent Applications Too Late
There are certain rules that apply to patent applications, and non-compliance with these rules could mean that a company loses out on the advantages offered by protecting intellectual property rights. It is best to make patents applications as soon as possible, so that there is no chance of missing out the rights your deserve.

Claims Too Short or Narrow
Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of making patent claims that are insufficiently broad in their invention. Such narrow definitions for patent claims mean that a rival enterprise can easily circumvent the patent claims, and exploit the invention or innovation for its own ends. It is not easy to decide on the scope a claim should encompass, but it is important to include as wide a definition as possible for broader protection of your invention.

Wilful Infringement
Wilful patent infringement will be punished, and enterprises infringing on another venture’s patent will have to pay heavy fines. So steps should be taken wisely and cautiously to ensure that neither accidental nor deliberate patent infringement takes place.

Protecting Software Only With Copyrights Is Not Good Decision
It is understood that copyrights are not very expensive, and safeguarding intellectual property with the use of copyrights is quite common. But while this is effective for certain kinds of work, reverse engineering on some material can help a competitor understand it thoroughly, and can be used it to his or her own advantage. In such cases, it is better to protect your intellectual property with a patent application as well as a copyright.

Unspecified Ownership Of Intellectual Property
Sometimes the intellectual property of an enterprise is jointly owned by several parties – employees, consultants, customers and vendors may all have contributed to a particular invention. So it is important to clearly identify the ownership of any intellectual property to avoid any mistake that may raise later.

Failing To Take Legal Implications Into Account
If the legal implications are not taken into account, especially with regard to amended claims and scope of patents, various problems can raise. The doctrine of equivalence should be clearly understood in this context.

Failing To Emphasise The Significance Of Confidentiality
Trade secrets and confidential information that the employees of an enterprise are privy to should be carefully safeguarded while, for instance, patents are pending. Non-disclosure agreements with employees will be useful in this regard. A failure to attend to this aspect of intellectual property protection could cost an enterprise dearly.

Steady Response To Notifications From Patent AuthoritiesTo avoid delays, act quickly when required by the patent authorities in your area. See that legal requirements are met promptly, especially if there are claims against your patent.

Cost Cutting On Legal Expenses
With the aim of saving money, some enterprises hire patent professionals based on the low fees they charge, but this could prove unwise in the long run. It is essential to hire professionals who are highly competent as well as experienced, and it is worth paying the higher fees that skilled patent attorneys charge.